Hastening to the Abyss

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There are quite a few musical works that I enjoy that evoke that magnetically dark and “spooky” atmosphere that I love in works of art. I thought that, as we approach the quintessentially spooky holiday of Halloween, I would make a few posts about some of my favorite pieces of Halloween-appropriate music. This is number four in the short series.

In the early-90’s, after not playing video games for a few years, I bought a SNES game system and two games: Maria Brothers 3 and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I put many, many hours into each. I had already seen the Dracula movie on which the game was based at the movie theater with my sister and two friends (in 1992, I think); I didn’t enjoy the movie quite as much as my sister did but I was interested in playing the game based on it. It was a good game for its time and a little hard for me to finish. I recall that it was one of those games with limited lives and once they were gone, I had to start the game from the beginning. The music was one of the high points of the game and is eerie enough in many cases. Hearing this soundtrack, I can still picture every level that each piece of music accompanies.

There are quite a few musical works that I enjoy that evoke that magnetically dark and “spooky” atmosphere that I love in works of art. I thought that, as we approach the quintessentially spooky holiday of Halloween, I would make a few posts about some of my favorite pieces of Halloween-appropriate music. This is number three in the short series.

Nox Arcana have created a rather large number of albums, all with varying dark themes but all quite dramatic and impressive. Some of the albums tend to sound a bit similar to my ears, but they do a good job at making each themed album unique enough to stand out in some way from the others. Their newest, Season of the Witch, would make a particularly perfect soundtrack for any Halloween-themed endeavor:

And if you’d rather summon the Great Cthulhu, try their Necronomicon title, in particular the track, ‘Ritual of Summoning;’ ‘Ïa! Ïa! Cthulhu Fhtagn!’:

You can find Nox Arcana’s “Music for Creatures of the Night” and some sweet “Gothic Gear” on their website

There are quite a few musical works that I enjoy that evoke that magnetically dark and “spooky” atmosphere that I love in works of art. I thought that, as we approach the quintessentially spooky holiday of Halloween, I would make a few posts about some of my favorite pieces of Halloween-appropriate music.

I would call the works of Lustmord more atmospheric soundscapes than music in the traditional sense, but his works definitely have an eerie vibe and can kind of take you on a mental journey. Apparently, his live shows incorporating sound and sights can be quite transcendental. This video gives a short taste of his type of performance.

There are quite a few musical works that I enjoy that evoke that magnetically dark and “spooky” atmosphere that I love in works of art. I thought that, as we approach the quintessentially spooky holiday of Halloween, I would make a few posts about some of my favorite pieces of Halloween-appropriate music.

I’m starting with this gem of intense witchification, Hexerei im Zwielicht der Finsternis, by the group (solo artist?) Aghast. I don’t think that they/she ever did any other albums (if I’m wrong, please let me know), but this one would be at the very top of my all-time occult-sounding works. It’s creepy, eerie, “witchy,” and sublimely beautiful in a darkly fun way. Listen for yourself, and enjoy!

Last month, I posted regarding the exhibition/book release in Norway for Dreadful Folktales from the Land of Nosferatu. The book is authored by Gina Sandulescu and illustrated by Costin Chioreanu, both of Romania. Costin has now posted a short movie about the exhibition, including interview clips with members of the bands Einherjer and Vulture Industries:

This is a short video plugging Costin Chioreanu’s exhibition for Dreadful Folktales from the Land of Nosferatu. The exhibition will be this weekend in Norway. And I really wish that I were in Norway right now.

Heavy, dark, intense, slow-grinding doom metal at its best. Catacombs is the one-man project of John Del Russi (currently doing projects under the name Xathagorra). This is a track from his 2006 recording, In the Depths of R’lyeh. Put out the lights and sink into this album’s oppressive transcendence. This is meditation music for the rest of us.

This is the first in what I plan as occasional posts of music that I find related to the Dark or Dark-Light current. I don’t think that anyone plugs into that current the way that Johann Sebastian Bach does in many of his works, and most particularly in this one, the Passacaglia from the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582. Mysterious, sublime, terrifying, unrelenting and cathartic, it captures, to my mind, most perfectly Jacob Boehme’s Ungrund concept. It can pluck you up and hurtle you deep within the darkest cosmos and spit you out to bask in the searing fire of illumination. Maybe it only affects me that way. But – it has to be performed well, as in this recording by Michael Murray. I have a recording of the work by another, very accomplished organist, and that performance leaves me very cold; while it may be technically perfect, it does nothing for me on an inner level.

The person who uploaded this YouTube video has put up the complete Michael Murray recording, which includes some other works; I tried to set it up here so that it would begin at the Passacaglia, but if it starts at the beginning for you, as is likely, then click forward to exactly the 20:00 minute mark, which is where the Passacaglia begins. I may replace this with my own video of just the Passacaglia at some point, if I get around to making one.

This is from a book of the lyrics from Lou Reed’s musical based on the life and writings of Edgar Allan Poe, and illustrated by an artist whose works I’ve long admired, Lorenzo Mattotti. If you get a chance, check it out.